Wellington, Oct 10 (IANS): New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has signed a six-year broadcasting rights agreement with streaming service Spark Sport starting from April 2020. The agreement with Spark also ended NZC's 24-year-old relationship with Sky Sports.

NZC chief executive David White has hailed the new agreement as "ground-breaking" and a nod to the future, saying "it was as much about catering for the demands of tomorrow as it was about the demands of today. This is a deal which future-proofs the whole of cricket in New Zealand."

"Live streaming is the future. It allows viewers to free themselves from fixed linear schedules to watch live, delayed, highlighted or clipped content when and where they choose, and on a wide range of devices.

"Spark Sport will show all international cricket matches played in New Zealand under the umbrella of NZC for the six years from October 2020, according to an NZC media release.

New Zealand's domestic T20 competition Super Smash will also be broadcasted by Spark.